I took this yesterday and the fact that the tracks go on to infinity made the shot interesting to me. There are a lot better rail shots out there, but I'd like someone to improve on this one, if there's any hope. :er:

All suggestions and criticisms welcomed......:thumbup:

I did crop off the left side and remove some overhead wires in the foreground.

My criticism would be to get away from shooting eye level, and show us a perspective that we don't normally see. If you were very low to the ground, I think it would add much more to the shot, by helping to eliminate unneccesary background elements that distract from the subject, to increase the feeling of infinity.

Yeah I agree with Matt. Some good advice would be when you find a scene to shoot... try getting it from all possible angles. On your knees/stomach, up above from a fence, etc. At least that way you'd have different pics to compare and could decide what works.

Another bit of advice (I fall victim to this too) if the sky doesn't have any type of funky cloud formations or you don't have a deliberate purpose for including, I'd generally try to keep it out of the shot. Clouds can really add to a shot but just as equally an empty sky can hurt it.

I think this shot would be more interesting with a train barreling down on you, brakes locked, sparks flying everywhere, the driver hanging half out the window yelling at you to get out of the way. also for the shot make sure you include the table you have set up on the tracks and the teacup you are drinking from, after all what better location to sip on some afternoon tea?

ok maybe this isnt the best idea, but to add to what everyone else has said, the shot is a little dull colorwise, nothing really stands out too much.

Oooooook. To this point though... switch up the point of view... wait for a train and all of a sudden you have an awesome pic. The cool thing about trains too is that they're usually scheduled... so you should be able to predict roughly when one will roll by if the tracks are still used.

You definitely have a good idea with the tracks though... it's just missing a LITTLE bit before it becomes a really good shot.

Lunatick said:

I think this shot would be more interesting with a train barreling down on you, brakes locked, sparks flying everywhere, the driver hanging half out the window yelling at you to get out of the way. also for the shot make sure you include the table you have set up on the tracks and the teacup you are drinking from, after all what better location to sip on some afternoon tea?

I'm a beginner myself, but I try to absorb as much as I can from instructors and other photographers. The one thing that sticks out the most with me whenever I bring the camera to my eye is something that was said to me after my first crit in class; "A photographers most usful tool is his/her feet."

Move around, and get out of the box. Show us the world as we wouldn't normally see it. That 5'8" perspective can leave you with an uninteresting pic. This scene has hundreds of possibilities. Get low, get high, hit it from the side or an off 90 degree angle. Train tracks are always good candidates from vertical shots, too.

Show me this shot with just a sliver of sky and no power lines or freeway distractions and you'll have an awsome shot. The rails themselves look fairly shiney, but the overgrown foilage may indicate tracks no longer in use. Getting a train shot might be hard to do at this locale.

in my opinon, a much better angle, but I don't like the sky here either... looks too fake for me... i guess if you were going to have the whole lot black and white, with a bit of colour, perhaps a train somewhere down the line, would be a good candidate for the colouring.

in my opinon, a much better angle, but I don't like the sky .here either... looks too fake for me... i guess if you were going to have the whole lot black and white, with a bit of colour, perhaps a train somewhere down the line, would be a good candidate for the colouring.

Click to expand...

Actually the sky is real, but from another shot. I thought it would dress the rails up a bit.